FAQs

What is the purpose of this book

What is the highest priority during the planning stage?

What is the biggest problem or caution during the planning phase?

What is the single most important factor during the implementation?

Why don't traditional methodologies achieve Operations Excellence?

What is the main priority of a software implementation project?

Can the project's main priority be established after the project is underway?

What is the project's first decision when implementing ERP software?

How do you get everyone on the same page at the outset?

What is the focus of the implementation at the outset?

What is excellence in ongoing operations?

How does an implementation project achieve excellence in ongoing operations?

How does Operations-Driven Thinking achieve excellence?

When does the project have to gather business requirements?

When does the project have to identify support personnel?

When and how does eReviewPanel get involved in an implementation?

What sets eReviewPanel apart from other software implementers?

What is the purpose of this book?

The purpose of this book is to completely change the way business software packages are implemented by enhancing a Company's Core Competencies in order to Deliver Excellence in Ongoing Operations.

What is the highest priority during the planning stage?

More time is wasted as a result of mistakes in the planning and structuring phase than due to errors in any other phase of the project. As such, the highest priority in the planning phase is to point the project in the right direction in order to avoid confusion and wasted effort at the outset. This is achieved by defining the objectives of the implementation in no uncertain terms. Is it simply to go-live or to go-live while achieving operations excellence in the company's core competencies? Then pick an approach or methodology that directly targets this objective and commit to it. This focuses the organization exclusively on the prime deliverables and ensures that the daily priorities and strategies constantly target and reinforce the objective and the primary deliverables.

What is the biggest problem or caution during the planning phase?

The biggest problem during the planning and structuring phase is allowing ambiguity about your approach to creep in. Despite their inefficiencies, traditional methodologies structure the project adequately to achieve their objective of going live. While Operations-driven thinking is more effective in achieving go-live as well as excellence in ongoing operations, it is radically different from the traditional methodologies in the way it structures the project and targets deliverables. Consequently, depending on whether your objective is simply to go-live or to go-live while achieving excellence in ongoing operations you must pick one or the other of these approaches. Using a combination of both approaches is guaranteed to cause confusion.

What is the single most important factor during the implementation?

Constant communication with the end-user is the single most important criteria for success regardless of which approach you prefer. Communicate the overall approach, objectives, value creation strategy and prime deliverables to all stakeholders. Communication is about filling an information vacuum before it is filled by speculation. The most effective way of communicating your implementation approach to the end-user is to provide them each with a copy of the book 'Implementing Excellence'.

Build a mutual bond with end-users and listen to them where it relates to their core competencies. End-users are not just the project's customers; they are also the means of production and the vehicle that delivers change throughout the organization. End-users are the single most important source of your organization's real competitive advantage. Without them you can deliver nothing that has any real lasting value.

Why don't traditional methodologies achieve Operations Excellence?

Traditional implementations do not focus on enhancing core competencies. Since their primary objective is to go-live, they mainly concentrate on the onetime setup and development activities necessary to get the system up and running. End-users are almost an afterthought and are provided a few days training immediately prior to the Go-Live date. This 'Just-In-Time' training does not result in Operations Excellence.

Most implementations adopt a phased 'design from scratch' strategy that structures the project using middlemen and focuses primarily on onetime development and setup activities that are necessary to go-live. This strategy points the project in the wrong direction because it does not intersect the right knowledge (that retains its operational integrity) and site-specific data with the right person that will utilize these processes on an ongoing basis.

What is the main priority of a software implementation project?

In a software implementation you must immediately establish the project's priorities. What are most important, onetime or ongoing activities?

1. The development of database objects and onetime setup activities, or
2. The knowledge and skills to proficiently utilize the resulting business process functionality on an ongoing basis.

Acquiring and perfecting skills that will be utilized on an ongoing basis creates long-term value for the individual and the organization. While the onetime development activities are definitely necessary to go-live, the skills to recreate these objects will not be necessary on an ongoing basis. As such, they should be viewed in the same manner as a onetime capital decision to acquire necessary fixed assets as opposed to operating decisions related to the functionality of the business process or the skills of the employees.

Can the project's main priority be established after the project has started?

Starting a project without first agreeing upon the objectives is a recipe for disaster. If the priority of the implementation is to enhance your Company's core competencies, your strategies and tactics must support this goal by outsourcing any onetime activities that do not represent core competencies. These onetime activities distract employees from enhancing their core competencies. However, if your objective is to develop the finest database objects and achieve the perfect system configuration, then you will tend to deliver a $5,000 hammer instead of a carpenter that is proficient in using his tools to achieve excellence. It takes a lot longer to acquire the necessary skills to utilize the equipment proficiently than it does to replace the equipment. As such, the project should focus on creating excellent carpenters as opposed to excellent hammers.

What is the project's first decision when implementing ERP software?

The first step is to select an approach that you are convinced will enhance your Company's core competencies and deliver the prime deliverables. Once you have selected an approach you must commit to it whole-heartedly and the strategies, structure and resourcing must be in line with this top down approach. Once you have committed to an approach you must communicate this approach to all end-users to ensure you create a critical mass of end-users that understand your approach and support your reasoning.

How do you get everyone on the same page at the outset?

The next step is to get everyone on the same page. End-users need to gain a broad based grass roots understanding and acceptance of your approach. Without this understanding and acceptance you will have an uphill struggle during the entire implementation. Unless everyone is on the same page, confusion reigns. You need to get end-users on board right from the very beginning by providing your implementation approach to the end-users that will execute the new business processes as well as everyone that interacts with these end-users. I have seen more projects delayed by a vote of no confidence by end-users than any other single group.

The most effective way of communicating this approach to the end-user is to provide them each with a copy of the book 'Implementing Excellence'.

What is the focus of the implementation at the outset?

In a software implementation you must focus on the end result at the outset. That means immediately targeting each individual end-user and the specific business processes they execute. The key is to allow each end-user to only do the one thing they do best and to allow them to continually practice doing it until they achieve perfection. If everyone concentrates single-mindedly on the business process they will execute on an ongoing basis, you will achieve excellence in ongoing operations.

At a minimum, at go-live you must deliver:

1. Fully trained and supported end-users that have achieved a complete mastery of the business process they will execute on an ongoing basis.
2. Business process functionality that has been fully validated and tested to ensure it operates as designed and meets end-user requirements.
3. A fully tested infrastructure that delivers the necessary throughput to handle the online and batch processes and end-users.

Ideally, you should also deliver productivity tools that will leverage the implementation effort and reduce the cost of future upgrades and releases.

What is excellence in ongoing operations?

Excellence is a complete mastery of the business process such that the end-user can troubleshoot any problems that occur in everyday life. It also requires a complete understanding of the adjacent processes that impact the end-user so that they have the knowledge to identify the source of a problem and rectify it even if it is outside their immediate area but is nevertheless impacting them indirectly.

How does an implementation project achieve excellence in ongoing operations?

An organization achieves excellence during an implementation by focusing on and practicing its core competencies. Think of an implementation in terms of preseason training where every player is allowed to perfect his skills in a no-risk environment. The objective is to ensure every player is provided with the right knowledge and skills to allow him to function effectively in the field for the remainder of the season. Achieving excellence is then simply a function of how long and hard a player practices the right moves in order to ingrain them into muscle memory until they become completely natural.

Tiger Woods is an example of excellence in his chosen profession. He started acquiring and honing his skills when he was 5 and is still not satisfied with anything less than perfection. The question is, what is responsible for Tiger's ability to drive the ball 380 yards and putt so well? Is it his equipment? Did he spend all this time developing a new driver or putter or a new ball? The answer is obviously a resounding, 'No.' Tiger's clubs are his tools but they are replaceable. What is irreplaceable is the  skill he acquired over the years of practice that would allow him to master the sport on an ongoing basis.

How does Operations-driven thinking achieve excellence?

Excellence is achieved by creating the right intellectual capital in the right person. This requires changing the depth and breadth of each end-users understanding of their business process as well as how it fits into and is impacted by upstream and downstream activities. The Operations-Driven Approach:

1. Eliminates the concentration of knowledge in a few middlemen that can walk out the door with this knowledge and leave the company vulnerable.
2. Eliminates any intermediate deliverables and phases that destroy the operational integrity of the business processes being implemented.
3. Only allows end-users to execute functions they will be performing on an ongoing basis. This ensures all end-users are involved right from the start with delivery and acceptance of the business processes they will execute on an ongoing basis. This allows them time to practice in-depth with the business processes using site-specific data until they master the knowledge required not only to operate it but also to trouble shoot it as necessary. This does not happen overnight or with a single training session. This mastery occurs when you live with the process for an extended period of time and gradually gain confidence in your abilities to handle the new system.
4. Eliminates silo thinking by ensuring that all end-users are knowledgeable of the adjacent business processes. These include the upstream process that could impact them as well as the downstream process that they in turn could impact. This creates a feedback loop between adjacent end-users that are affected by each other's actions. It also sheds light on adjoining areas while highlighting any dependencies, bottlenecks and areas for improvement. By connecting the dots, end-users are in a better position to view the system as a series of interactive processes and will therefore be more mindful of how they impact others.
5. Eliminates the need to develop in-house expertise in onetime development activities by outsourcing these deliverables. It is far more productive to build partnerships and alliances with companies that have the right skill sets and productivity tools to undertake these onetime development activities. The alternative is to develop them in-house and then have them walk out the door to greener pastures.

When does the project have to gather business requirements?

Most methodologies gather requirements from the perspective of the system being implemented. Operations-Driven Thinking focuses on requirements from the perspective of the end-user. If you don't know who is involved and what they do, you will not be in a position to enhance their core competencies by intersecting the right knowledge and data with the right person.

While the end-users are absorbing the contents of the book 'Implementing Excellence' you should be gathering the following information to define your requirements:

1. Identify each end-user, his immediate supervisor, and his user access profile that lists the business processes that they are responsible for on an ongoing basis.
2. Next you must validate this information with the end-users and their supervisors.

When does the project have to identify support personnel?

Once you have identified all the end-users that will execute the new business processes, the next step is to identify all your support employees that will be responsible for the effective operation of the new system. These include:  

1. Application help desk personnel that will support each application.
2. IT Operations personnel that will manage the batch schedule.
3. IT and functional personnel that will be required to map conversion and interface data from the existing source to the new target applications.
4. Any other technical or functional support personnel that are necessary (audit and test, etc.).

When and how does eReviewPanel get involved with an implementation?

We are involved in several ways.

1. At the very beginning, we provide the books that communicate your approach to the implementation.

2. On an ongoing basis, as the project coach we support the Executive Sponsor and providing oversight at regular project meetings.

3. As the General Contractor that manages the project on a turnkey basis with a fixed schedule and for a fixed price that is agreed upon in advance. This price includes all ongoing activities as well as onetime development activities that will be outsourced to subject matter experts. All you provide, for short periods of time, are the people that will be involved in operating and supporting these operations processes on an ongoing basis as well as the data we request from each of them individually. With a fixed price contract, you basically outsource the onetime setup and development activities to us. All you provide is the site-specific data and the end-users that need to be trained in specific roles.

What problems did you run into in the past using this approach?

The biggest problem was confusion as a result of commingling traditional methodologies with Operations-driven thinking. The traditional methodologies with their phased 'design from scratch' strategy work best for onetime development activities while Operations-driven thinking works best for ongoing operational activities. When you don't have very clear boundaries that delineate what is used under what circumstances you have confusion. As a result, we no longer allow multiple methodologies on an implementation. We require that the client choose a single methodology that best meets their requirements and then commit to it for the duration of the implementation.

What sets eReviewPanel apart from other software implementers?

What sets our Company apart from other ERP implementers is our extensive network of independent subject matter experts (SMEs). These offsite experts drastically reduce implementation timeframes by providing us with the competitive edge to divide a complex assignment into its component parts and attack these components in parallel with numerous resources that are skilled in that particular area. By allowing the majority of our resources to work out of their homes, we can address a problem at cyber speeds.

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